Wanderlust

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When I was 17 years old, I spent a year in Argentina as an exchange student, and after that experience I always considered myself a “Citizen of the World,” not just a citizen of my own country. But I’ll admit it:  I’m more of an armchair traveler than a real traveler, although I would love to visit many different far off places!  Books have always encouraged and mostly satisfied my wanderlust, so I will continue to read books from other countries and cultures.

There are many booklists online about books from countries around the world, and many blogging friends have put together challenges to encourage a broader range of reading. I love putting together lists, so I thought I would build this post with a list of the countries of the world so that when I read a book from or about that country, I can log it here. It’s the journey that calls to me, not the finish line.

I will read as many books in translation as possible. There are also many books for young people that provide wonderful stories and information about other cultures/countries, so I look forward to reading some of those, as well.  Since I’m starting in 2019, I will include books I’ve already read this year that qualify for this self-challenge and will provide links to my reviews.

It is important to me, as a “citizen of the world,” that I broaden my reading journey even more during this time of increasing nationalism. I truly believe the motto of the American Field Service (now known as AFS Intercultural Programs):

“Walk Together, Talk Together, 
O ye peoples of the Earth,
For then, and only then,
Shall ye have peace.”

46/196 books read.
Red = click to read my review
Blue = Read but not reviewed

  1. AFGHANISTAN:  Nasreen’s Secret School, by Jeanette Winter
  2. ALBANIA
  3. ALGERIA
  4. ANDORRA
  5. ANGOLA
  6. ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA: A Small Place, by Jamaica Kincaid
  7. ARGENTINA:  Argentinian Adventures: A Planthunter in Argentina, by John Lonsdale
  8. ARMENIA
  9. AUSTRALIA
  10. AUSTRIA:  Letters to a Young Poet, by Rainer Maria Rilke
  11. AZERBAIJAN
  12. THE BAHAMAS
  13. BAHRAIN: Round the Bend, by Nevil Shute
  14. BANGLADESH
  15. BARBADOS
  16. BELARUS
  17. BELGIUM:  A Dog of Flanders, by Ouida
  18. BELIZE
  19. BENIN: Idia of the Benin Kingdom, by Ekiuwa Aire
  20. BHUTAN
  21. BOLIVIA
  22. BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA
  23. BOTSWANA
  24. BRAZIL:  Manuscript Found in Accra, by Paulo Coehlo
  25. BRUNEI
  26. BULGARIA
  27. BURKINA FASO
  28. BURUNDI
  29. CABO VERDE
  30. CAMBODIA:  The Elephant’s New Shoe, by Laurel Neme
  31. CAMEROON
  32. CANADA:  The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables, by Catherine Reid
  33. CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
  34. CHAD
  35. CHILE
  36. CHINA: Bronze and Sunflower, by Cao Wenxuan
  37. COLOMBIA:  Waiting for the Biblioburro, by Monica Brown
  38. COMOROS
  39. CONGO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF
  40. CONGO, REPUBLIC OF THE
  41. COSTA RICA
  42. COTE D’IVOIRE
  43. CROATIA
  44. CUBA:  Island Treasures: Growing Up in Cuba, by Alma Flor Ada
  45. CYPRUS
  46. CZECH REPUBLIC
  47. DENMARK
  48. DJIBOUTI
  49. DOMINICA
  50. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
  51. EAST TIMOR (TIMOR-LESTE)
  52. ECUADOR
  53. EGYPT
  54. EL SALVADOR
  55. EQUATORIAL GUINEA
  56. ERITREA
  57. ESTONIA
  58. ESWATINI
  59. ETHIOPIA
  60. FIJI
  61. FINLAND
  62. FRANCE:  Travels With a Donkey in the Cévennes, by Robert Louis Stevenson
  63. GABON
  64. THE GAMBIA
  65. GEORGIA
  66. GERMANY:  The Solitary Summer, by Elizabeth von Arnim
  67. GHANA:  Emmanuel’s Dream, The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, by Laurie Ann Thompson
  68. GREECE:  The Moonspinners, by Mary Stewart
  69. GRENADA
  70. GUATEMALA
  71. GUINEA
  72. GUINEA-BISSAU
  73. GUYANA
  74. HAITI
  75. HONDURUS
  76. HUNGARY
  77. ICELAND:  The Little Book of the Icelanders: 50 Miniature Essays on the Quirks and Foibles of the Icelandic People, by Alda Sigmundsdottir
  78. INDIA:  A Tiger for Malgudi, by R. K. Narayan
  79. INDONESIA:  The Twenty-One Balloons, by William Pene Du Bois
  80. IRAN
  81. IRAQ:  The Librarian of Basra, by Jeanette Winter
  82. IRELAND:  A Week in Winter, by Maeve Binchy
  83. ISRAEL
  84. ITALY:  Marcovaldo, or The Seasons in the City, by Italo Calvino
  85. JAMAICA
  86. JAPAN:  Sweet Bean Paste, by Durian Sukegawa
  87. JORDAN
  88. KAZAKHSTAN
  89. KENYA:  Facing The Lion: Growing Up Maasai on the African Savanna, by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton
  90. KIRIBATI
  91. KOREA, NORTH:  North Korea Journal, by Michael Palin
  92. KOREA, SOUTH:  Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner
  93. KOSOVO
  94. KUWAIT
  95. KYRGYSTAN
  96. LAOS:  Mali Under the Night Sky: A Lao Story of Home, by Youme Landowne
  97. LATVIA
  98. LEBANON:  The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran
  99. LESOTHO
  100. LIBERIA
  101. LIBYA
  102. LIECHTENSTEIN
  103. LITHUANIA
  104. LUXEMBOURG
  105. MADAGASCAR:  The Aye-Aye and I, by Gerald Durrell
  106. MALAWI
  107. MALAYSIA
  108. MALDIVES
  109. MALI
  110. MALTA
  111. MARSHALL ISLANDS
  112. MAURITANIA:  Deep in the Sahara, by Kelly Cunnane and illustrated by Hoda Hadadi 
  113. MAURITIUS 
  114. MEXICO
  115. MICRONESIA, FEDERATED STATES of
  116. MOLDOVA
  117. MONACO
  118. MONGOLIA
  119. MONTENEGRO
  120. MOROCCO:  Mrs. Pollifax and the Whirling Dervish, by Dorothy Gilman
  121. MOZAMBIQUE
  122. MYANMAR (Burma)
  123. NAMIBIA
  124. NAURU
  125. NEPAL
  126. NETHERLANDS:  The Upstairs Room, by Johanna Reiss
  127. NEW ZEALAND
  128. NICARAGUA
  129. NIGER
  130. NIGERIA
  131. NORTH MACEDONIA
  132. NORWAY:  Snow Treasure, by Marie McSwigan
  133. OMAN
  134. PAKISTAN:  Malala’s Magic Pencil, by Malala Yousafzai
  135. PALAU
  136. PANAMA
  137. PAPUA NEW GUINEA    
  138. PARAGUAY:  Ada’s Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay, by Susan Hood
  139. PERU
  140. PHILIPPINES
  141. POLAND
  142. PORTUGAL
  143. QATAR
  144. ROMANIA
  145. RUSSIA:  A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles
  146. RWANDA
  147. SAINT KITTS and NEVIS 
  148. SAINT LUCIA
  149. SAINT VINCENT and THE GRENADINES 
  150. SAMOA
  151. SAN MARINO
  152. SAO TOME and PRINCIPE
  153. SAUDI ARABIA
  154. SENEGAL
  155. SERBIA
  156. SEYCHELLES
  157. SIERRA LEONE
  158. SINGAPORE
  159. SLOVAKIA
  160. SLOVENIA
  161. SOLOMON ISLANDS
  162. SOMALIA
  163. SOUTH AFRICA
  164. SPAIN
  165. SRI LANKA: Trouble in Nuala, by Harriet Steel
  166. SUDAN
  167. SUDAN, SOUTH:  A Long Walk to Water, by Linda Sue Park
  168. SURINAME
  169. SWEDEN:  An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good, by Helene Tursten
  170. SWITZERLAND:  Heidi, by Johanna Spyri
  171. SYRIA: Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family’s Journey, by Margriet Ruur and illustrated by Nazir Ali Badr
  172. TAIWAN
  173. TAJIKISTAN
  174. TANZANIA:  Death in Zanzibar, by M. M. Kaye
  175. THAILAND
  176. TOGO
  177. TONGA
  178. TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
  179. TUNISIA
  180. TURKEY
  181. TURKMENISTAN
  182. TUVALU
  183. UGANDA
  184. UKRAINE
  185. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
  186. UNITED KINGDOM:  Cider With Rosie, by Laurie Lee
  187. UNITED STATES:  The Country of the Pointed Firs, by Sarah Orne Jewett
  188. URUGUAY
  189. UZBEKISTAN
  190. VANUATU
  191. VATICAN CITY
  192. VENEZUELA
  193. VIETNAM:  Water Buffalo Days – Growing Up in Vietnam, by Huynh Quang Nhuong
  194. YEMEN
  195. ZAMBIA
  196. ZIMBABWE

13 thoughts on “Wanderlust”

  1. Anonymous

    I, too, travel from an armchair. I look forward to watching your list grow and perhaps will accompany you on some of these trips. I did read Cider with Rosie on your recommendation and thoroughly enjoyed it!

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  2. Cath

    You could read another Laurie Lee book for Spain, When I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning. Shadowland by Elizabeth Kostova has a wonderful sense of Bulgaria. I have to say, armchair travelling is my favourite occupation. Currently reading about a chap cycling the entire length of the Danube.

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    1. Robin Post author

      I love your suggestions, Cath! Thank you! I would very much like to read the Laurie Lee. It’s the next one in that trilogy, isn’t it? And I’ll look for Shadowland, too.

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      1. Cath

        Yes, that’s right. In fact the first few chapters deal with what LL does directly after leaving home, in England. Then he’s off to Spain.

        I assume you haven’t given yourself a time limit for this challenge? It being rather massive! I have a similar American states one going on which I’ve been doing for about 10 years. What I’ve found with that is that some states are really easy and I have two or three books read, Alaska, Maine, Minnesota et., others… nothing. I’m also doing the European Reading challenge which is similar to yours but just Europe of course. I’m very intrigued by what you’re attempting and think it’s wonderful.

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        1. Robin Post author

          Thanks, Cath! No, I haven’t put a time limit on this self-challenge. I just want to add more diversity to my reading and I’ll be happy to add reviews to this list over many years. I love that you started your US states challenge 10 years ago and are still working on it! It’s really a lovely way to travel and expand our horizons! Do you have a master list of the books and states you’ve read thus far?

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  3. Jane

    What a great idea, I’m trying to read more in translation at the moment and II like the idea of a ‘personal’ challenge with no time limit – do you mind if I copy you?

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  4. Nan

    I think this is such a wonderful idea! I love how you’ve done it – listing all the countries, and then a book when you read it. Argentina! What drew you there? When I think of it, I think of horses, which I would love! I would have been so nervous if my kids had gone away for a year like that!

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    1. Robin Post author

      Thanks, Nan. It’s so fun to search for books and stories from other cultures. There are wonderful ones for children. So many more available now than when I was teaching! It’s a fun, no pressure challenge.

      When I applied to the American Field Service to become an exchange student, I could only select which hemisphere I wanted. I had a dear friend that had been to Brazil and another to South Africa, so I selected the Southern Hemisphere. I was chosen for Argentina, although I’d had 5 years of French. Learning Spanish by immersion took four months!

      Needless to say, it was a terribly hard on my mother, who was a worrier. She would knit or sew at night when she couldn’t sleep for worrying. Communications back and forth took two weeks! No cell phones, no easy way to touch base! Those first few months of that year were rough for me and for my family at home, but once I learned the language, things settled into an amazing year in my life. During that year, Mom made a beautiful handmade doll with a gorgeous dress, all beautifully hand sewn. She named her Comfort.

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